A Maid and A Butler
by writer writing
Summary: Lois and Clark go undercover as a maid and butler.
1. Chapter 1

Lois and Chloe were at the Daily Planet. Chloe pounded furiously at the keys, while Lois just watched. Every now and then a mechanical voice would say, "Access Denied."

At last, Lois rolled back in her chair and complained, "This is getting us nowhere."

"Hacking into the computer of the biggest crime boss in Metropolis is not an easy job."

"But it's so boring and what kind of story does it get us?"

"Exposing the biggest crime boss in Metropolis? Are you kidding?"

"I know we agreed to work on this story together and don't get me wrong, Chlo, you're good at what you do. You're a computer genius and you snag the story, but it's not my style. I like to get my hands messy and put myself in the action."

"But my way is less dangerous."

"How about we both pursue the story our own way but then we combine our stuff and still write it together?"

"Your way is going to get you killed. What do you plan to do?"

"We need hard evidence that John Alberto is a crime boss, right? Well, where's a better place to look than his house?"

"Are you crazy? You're going to break in and enter his home?"

"Of course not."

"That's a relief. I was worried for a second."

"I'm going to get a job there."

"Lois!"

"He's always looking for new servants."

"For a good reason, they always mysteriously leave the country or something like that, but everyone knows they end up swimming with the fishes. They find out too much and he doesn't want to take a chance."

"But by the time he's ready to dispose of me, I'll already have the evidence we need, so relax. I've done made up my mind. I'm applying for a job today," and Lois left the office.

Chloe sighed and picked up the phone. She swore Lois needed to have her head examined. "Hi, Clark. You won't believe what Lois is up to now."

sss

Lois stood before the mansion. It was very pretty. The house was white and the garden was blooming with colorful flowers. It looked so picturesque, it was hard to believe it belonged to someone so evil, but maybe that was the idea. Lois had on old clothes, she'd messed up her hair a little, and she'd used a little makeup to give herself dark circles under her eyes. She wanted to give the impression that she was a poor, unemployed girl that nobody cared about. She pressed the talk button on an intercom that was perched on the white wall next to the gates.

"Yes?" came a gruff voice.

"Uh, I really need a job. I heard that you might be looking for a maid?"

"Come in," the voice said.

The iron gates creaked open ominously. Lois took a deep breath and walked up to the house.

A rough-looking character opened the door for her, "You're lucky. A girl just quit yesterday. Do you have any experience in this line of work?"

"No, sir, but I'm a fast learner."

He scrutinized her closely. "I bet you are. Go up the stairs and to the right and the room at the end of the hall is the one you want. You should find Mrs. Rodgers. She'll see to it that you get cleaned up and get a maid's uniform. She'll also inform you of your duties. I'm warning you now, girly. Mind your own business and stay out of Mr. Alberto's way."

"Yes, sir," Lois answered in a purposely timid voice.

"What's your name?" he asked her.

"Lola Cane."

"Remember what I said, Lola."

"Yes, sir," she said and then she headed to find Mrs. Rodgers.

sss

Later that evening, Lois was going down to the kitchen for supper. She had gotten a tour of the place, but it was so big, it was easy to get lost. In the kitchen, there were a lot of servants, at least 20. Mr. and Mrs. Alberto ate in the dining room, of course.

Lois almost gave herself away when she saw Clark among the servants. She so desperately wanted to yell and question what he was doing here. She had to bite her tongue. Mrs. Rodgers introduced her and then went around telling her each servant's name. She paused at Clark. "I'm afraid I don't know this young man."

"Chuck Flint, ma'am. I'm the new butler."

Then she continued the introductions, but Lois wasn't paying attention. She was seething. She couldn't wait to get her hands on 'Chuck' and Chloe, who surely put him up to it.


	2. Chapter 2

Lois mechanically went through the motions of eating supper. She couldn't even say what she'd eaten. She kept staring angrily at Clark. Clark, however, was doing a great job of ignoring her and was having a friendly chat with one of the other maids.

After they were done eating and most of the servants were heading back to their rooms, Lois pulled Clark into a deserted hallway. It wasn't very hard to find a deserted place in such a large house.

"What do you think you are doing?"

"Well, I was walking to my room before you pulled me away."

"Don't be cute. Chloe ratted on me and you with your hero complex had to come running to my rescue. "

"She worries about you and with good cause. Look, I'm not insisting you drop it and dragging you out of the house. You can keep investigating. I'm just going to be your backup in case you need it."

"Which, I won't. If I could tell on you without telling on myself, I'd do it in a heartbeat."

"You probably would," he said with a smile.

She pointed a finger at him. "Don't push my buttons, Kent."

"Flint."

"Whatever. I mean it. Stay out of my way."

"You won't even know I'm here."

"Yeah, right," she muttered as she walked away.

Her room was very small but well-furnished. Every servant had their own room which was a testament to just how big the house was. She had a dresser and an old-fashioned iron bed. The walls were painted in a bold yellow. She also had a small bathroom with all the necessary toiletries. Mrs. Rodgers had left a nightgown on her bed. There was a dress code even at night, but she supposed the primary purpose was that they didn't want her to wrinkle up the maid's uniform by sleeping in it.

She changed into her nightgown, but she didn't go to bed. She was waiting for the others in the house to fall asleep, so she could do some snooping. She waited for about 2 hours and everything seemed quiet, but then sound probably didn't carry very well in a mansion.

Just as she was getting up, there was a knock on the door and her heart leaped into her throat. Had they found out her plan? They wouldn't be so polite as to knock before they killed her, Lois assured herself. Maybe it was Mrs. Rodgers checking up on her.

"Come in," she called. It was Clark. She rolled her eyes. "Get out, Smallville."

"It's Chuck."

"Fine. Get out, Chuck!"

"You're getting ready to search the house. You need my help, Miss Cane."

"I am not searching the house."

"You didn't come here to be a maid and you haven't gone to bed yet. You're searching the house and I'm coming with you."

She didn't answer but left the room. Clark took it that she was okaying it. She would have said something otherwise, so he followed her. He knew it was making her mad that he could predict what she was going to do, but it wasn't like she didn't know him just as well.

Lois looked back. Yep, he was right behind her. He was just like a lost, little puppy trying to follow her home, not sweet imagery in her mind as she was allergic to dogs.

"Where are you going?" Clark whispered.

"I let you come along. The least you can do is keep your mouth shut and not worry about where I'm going."

"Okay," Clark said. "But where are you going?"

"If you must know, I'm going to his bedroom."

"Isn't he in there?"

"Probably."

"You worry me, you know that?"

"I suppose there are other rooms to search, at least until we find out if he's a heavy sleeper or not. I'm not even sure which room is his. I just know it's somewhere in the left wing. That part is reserved for him and his guests. The right wing is the servants' quarters. I was just going to check all the rooms until I found it. Do you know where his office is?"

"Not really but I would guess downstairs."

Lois stubbed her toe on a table in the hall. Clark grabbed her and covered her mouth. She pushed him away and grabbed her toe.

"What'd you do that for?" she whispered angrily.

"You were about to let out a string of very loud swear words, weren't you?"

"I hate you."

"Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright. I just stubbed my toe on the freaking table."

"You want me to take a look at it?"

"I'm fine. It's not broken or anything."

"Maybe you'd better let me go first."

"Are you kidding me? I've got eyes like a hawk."

"That may be, but you clearly don't have eyes like a night owl."

"I'll have you know—"

She was cut off by the beam of a flashlight coming down the next hall and voices. Somebody was about to turn the corner and catch them.


	3. Chapter 3

Before Lois had time to process that they were about to be caught, she felt Clark grab her and then faster than seemed possible, they were gone from the hallway and behind a closed door. She pressed her ear against the door. She could hear 2 men's voices as clear as a bell.

"If you ask me, it's rather suspicious that 3 cameras stopped working the same night we hired new people."

It sounded like a ladder and been set down and was being climbed.

"It happens," the other man replied. "Trust me when I say that unless we have definite proof that somebody messed up the cameras, the boss will get mad at us and we'll be the ones to get the boot."

"It's a fried wire on this one. I guess we could say it's just faulty wiring."

"Sure and we'll get new cameras tomorrow. Come on let's go back to our rooms."

"Shouldn't someone guard these areas? The security guard won't be able to see them on the screen."

"If you want to, Jim, but I'm going back to bed."

"Yeah, me too. I guess."

Their heavy footsteps got further and further away until they couldn't hear them anymore.

Lois gave a deep sigh of relief. "That was close."

"A little too close. I think we should go back to bed too."

"It probably is safer to snoop in the daylight when we have an excuse for being up. I'm confused though."

"About what?"

"What happened to those cameras?"

"You heard them. They had faulty wiring."

"But how did it happen to be the ones we passed? I know they are because they obviously didn't know we were here."

"Luck?"

"Nobody's that lucky."

"Maybe we have a guardian angel."

She opened the door. "Do you ever have any logical answers?"

"Not everything's logical."

They quietly headed back to their rooms. They got to Lois' room first. "Goodnight, Miss Cane." "Good night, Mr. Flint."

sss

After breakfast, Lois had to begin her maidly duties, which was keeping the floors downstairs clean. It wasn't an easy job and it didn't mean she was excluded from other tasks. Mrs. Rodgers had told her that you never know what needs might arise. It couldn't have worked out better for Lois though because it gave her the opportunity to go through all the downstairs rooms. She was sweeping the kitchen first. The cook and kitchen helpers had already cleaned up and left, so she was by herself.

She jumped when somebody came through the swinging door and said in a deep voice, "You rang?"

It was Clark, of course. "No, I didn't ring, Lurch. What are you doing in here?"

He grinned as he sat down, "Keeping you company."

"Don't you have a job to do? I assume you haven't lost it since you're still alive and in that ridiculous penguin suit."

"I'm taking care of my job. I'm not the head butler you know. You see that outside door over there? My job is simply to open it if somebody knocks on it. It's not the most used door in the house, but I guess people use it or I wouldn't have been assigned to it."

Lois' mouth dropped open. "You mean I have to work my butt off and all you have to do is open a stinking door?"

He wasn't sure how to answer that without making her angrier.

"I bet you get paid just as much too. No, wait! I bet you get paid even more."

He shrugged and she began to furiously sweep the floor. Clark figured it wise to keep quiet for a bit until she cooled off.

At last he broke the silence, "Look at the bright side. You could have gotten a job as the cook and we know how well that would have gone."

She didn't stop sweeping but replied crossly, "Just what are you saying about my cooking skills, Clark Kent?"

He was surprised. She usually admitted she was a lousy cook. Well, except when she was trying to kill people with kindness. Every time she tried to be nice, she cooked and that could very well end up killing someone one of these days. "Nothing. I like it."

"Don't lie to me, Smallville."

Clark was glad the cameras only took in pictures and not sound otherwise they would've been in big trouble by now. She continued sweeping for a couple minutes.

She turned around suddenly and put her hands on her hips, "I know you're staring at me. I can feel your eyes on me. What do you want?"

"Nothing."

"I get it. I know what goes on in the mind of a male."

"Nothing?"

"Not a bad answer, but I know you're getting a kick out of watching me do domestic work. Men never finished evolving from the cavemen days. I'm sure you're enjoying the maid's uniform too."

"Not as much as I would if it were a French household," he quipped in an attempt to lighten things up.

Lois lifted the broom in her hands and wielded it like a baseball bat. She moved toward him at a quick speed. Clark took it as his cue to leave.

Lois rolled her eyes and decided not to pursue him, as much as she wanted to. She had to crack open this case before Clark/Chuck ran her nuts. She deserved a Pulitzer or at least a Kerth, if solely for going undercover with the most annoying man in the world.


	4. Chapter 4

Lois was now vacuuming a hallway. She stopped moving the vacuum because she heard voices on the other side of the door, but the stupid machine was too noisy to hear anything. She sighed and kept working. If she turned it off, it would be too suspicious and she definitely couldn't go in, but she was sure she was missing an important meeting that could help bag the story. She barely heard when the door opened. A few tough-looking guys came out. One was the infamous John Alberto. He gave her a slight nod and most of them left, but one was still standing there, watching her. She tried to ignore it but at last she had to take a good look at him. It was the man who had let her in the other day.

"Lola, right?" he asked.

She nodded and did her best to look very busy and wrapped up in her vacuuming.

"You know you're too pretty a girl to work as hard as you do."

She turned off the vacuum and managed to smile politely and say, "But a girl has to work if she's going to eat and keep a roof over her head."

"True, but the question is how hard does she have to work?"

"What do you mean?" Lois asked with a trace of suspicion in her voice.

"You see I just broke up with my girlfriend and I've been awfully lonely. If you'll be my girlfriend, you can come live with me."

Lois had to take a deep breath and try to come up with a nice way to turn him down. She usually just had a smart-alecky comeback for jerks like him.

Before she could answer though, he said, "Did I tell you that I make 5 million a year? I'm Alberto's right-hand man."

That made Lois think. As a girlfriend, she was much more likely to pick up information, but then again she would be in the limelight and she couldn't even stand to be within 5 feet of him because he smelled so strongly of salami. It was certainly a more dangerous role to take. Could she stand to get on his bad side though? "I barely know you. I don't even know your name."

"Dan. Dan Martinelli."

"Dan, give me some time to think about it. You're around here a lot, aren't you?"

He nodded eagerly.

"Why don't we get to know each other first?"

He grinned. He had such a terrible grin. "I'm sure I can steal you away for supper. I know a great little seafood place."

Having supper with him certainly wouldn't hurt, she thought. Who knows what she might be able to wheedle out of him? "Sounds good to me," she answered.

"I'll pick you up at 8 and I'll bring you something more suitable to wear."

Lois had one thought on her mind as he walked off. Clark wasn't going to be happy about this. She went to vacuum the room where the meeting had taken place, in hopes that she might find something.

sss

Lois was vacuuming the library when Clark came in. She switched it off. "You have one job. Why aren't you at your post, waiting to answer the door?"

"I've got pretty good hearing. I'll be able to hear if someone comes to the door. I thought you might be getting tired by now and I thought I'd lend a hand."

"No, thank you. I'm not a weakling. I can handle cleaning floors. Did anybody use the door?"

"Twice. I think it's mostly for people who don't want to attract a lot of attention by using the front door and the servants use it. I wonder what we're eating tonight? I didn't find the ham sandwiches at lunch very filling."

"I don't know what you're having, but I'm having seafood."

"What are you talking about?"

"If you must know, I've been asked out on a date."

"By who? Alberto? Are you trying to become a gun moll?"

"Don't be ridiculous. He's married and you have to admit being a gun moll is better than slaving around all day for nothing."

"Who is it then?"

"You wouldn't know him. He works for Alberto."

Clark had looked angry during this exchange, but now he just looked determined. "Tell him it's off."

"I will not. This may be exactly the break we need."

"Not at the risk of your life."

"It's my life. I can do what I please with it."

"It's not completely yours."

"Just what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means it belongs to your father, your sister, your cousin, and everyone else who loves and cares about you."

"Would you include yourself as 'everyone else'?"

"You know I would. You can't throw your life away carelessly because you're in the middle of a story. You have to take other people into consideration and not be so selfish."

"I'm not being selfish. Do you know how many people's lives depend on bringing John Alberto to justice? I'd say he kills people almost on a daily basis. I'm not just doing this for myself."

He said very gently, "I know that, but you're just a reporter."

"Do you know one of the reasons I decided to become a reporter?"

"Because you like to stick your nose where it doesn't belong?" he joked.

"I'm serious. I'm sure you know I tend to be a violent person. I suppose part of that is the way I grew up. The military's way of bringing people to justice is through violence. I'm not so naïve as to think violence isn't necessary in some cases. Sometimes you have to protect yourself and others that way. There's another very effective way to bring justice, however, and that's through words. How does the saying go? 'The pen is mightier than the sword.' Sometimes violent, old me finds that very refreshing."

"I never really thought of journalism that way and I didn't know you felt so deeply about it."

"Well, I do."

"I really do understand where you're coming from, but I'm still telling you, don't go to dinner with that man."

"And I refuse to be told what to do."

Clark knew it was a lost cause. Once she made up her mind, she was too pigheaded to back down. "Fine, but we'll just see if you go!"

"Yes, we will!"

Clark slammed the door behind him and Lois turned the vacuum back on, angrily moving it back and forth.


	5. Chapter 5

Lois shifted uncomfortably in her dress. It wasn't all that surprising that she was uncomfortable, considering the kind of dress he had brought her. It was the kind that you couldn't quite make up your mind if you liked the material because there wasn't enough of it to judge by. The neckline plunged and the hemline rose. The designer had almost forgotten to add a back to the dress. It wasn't an outfit Lois would ever think of wearing in a million years, but she couldn't afford to offend Dan, the gang mobster, right now.

She had listened to him drone on for 10 minutes, but it was obvious he was steering clear of all incriminating subjects. She had eventually tuned him out altogether and only nodded and smiled every now and then to feign listening. She was keeping an eye out for their fish. She was hoping that food in the mouth would slow him down but with her luck, he was probably one of those people who kept right on talking through their chewing. She could picture the disgusting sight now and shuddered.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

She felt like saying, 'No, you bozo. How could I be when you gave me an entire yard of ultra-thin material to cover me?' Instead she said, "I'm fine. Please continue. I love to hear you talk."

He didn't need any more encouragement than that. He went on with his talk of sports and other crap.

Lois noticed one of the guys at the bar for the first time. It was Clark. Lois had to work hard not to show anger and mortification on her face. She was angry because he had followed her on her 'date'. He could blow their cover and get them both killed. She was also angry because this wasn't the first time he had done something like this. He had this annoying need to protect her, when she could do it herself. Most of all though, she was mortified because of her dress. How come anytime she was caught in things that could barely be defined as clothes or worse, none at all, Clark was there? He had been in the club for her stupid performance, he had been there when she had come out of the shower to attack her intruder and didn't have time to throw some clothes on, and just a little while ago in that awful outfit and tattoo. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he did it on purpose, but he was too much of a gentleman for that. He just happened to be around her more often than not and caught her in whatever she happened to be in. He never brought those moments up to tease her. Well, except for the sailor thing but that was only once. She, however, teased him unmercifully when she caught him in an embarrassing situation and when you meet someone in their birthday suit, it gives you plenty of material. It was the plaid that she preferred to tease him about though and he in turn made occasional jabs about her bunny slippers.

She remembered getting the bunny slippers. She had been shopping with Lucy or more like Lucy had dragged her along. Lucy had picked them up and exclaimed, "These are so perfect for you, sis!" Lois scrutinized them, "Yeah, right." She had to admit she thought they were cute momentarily. "No, they are," Lucy assured her, "I know you're my tough, big sister but underneath it all, you have a very soft spot, especially for these bunnies. You know you do." Lois rolled her eyes. If anyone ever found out she wore them, she'd never hear the end of it. She just wasn't the kind of girl you could picture in bunny slippers, combat boots maybe. She could imagine what the General would say when he saw her in them, "No." "Come on. Think about what it says about you. I'm so tough if you make fun of this, I'll kill you. It's why mean biker guys have mom tattoos. You even think of making fun of it, they'll pulverize you." Lois almost said yes, but they were shopping for Lucy's school clothes, not hers. Lois took them from Lucy's hand and put them back on the shelf. "I'll be waiting for you in the car," Lois said. "Here's the General's check to pay for the stuff. Don't go crazy and buy a bunch of junk. I'd get the blame for your spending spree." "Yes, ma'am," Lucy mock saluted. When Lucy got in the car, she dangled a bag in front of her, "Guess what?" "You didn't," Lois said, taking the bag and looking in. "You did. Lucy, what am I going to do with these?" "Wear them with your pajamas. We better get back to the base before Daddy sends the entire army after us." Lois frowned, as she threw them in the back and started the car but a small smile tugged at her lips. She had treasured them ever since, particularly because her little sister had gotten them for her. She always wore them, no matter who saw her in them. A few times, one had managed to make it off her foot with her cuddling it like a teddy bear when she woke up. Clark had seen one of those times, unfortunately. The point being Lois was proud of her bunny slippers. She could take the teasing. She wasn't in any shape or fashion proud of this dress.

"Dan, I have to go to the ladies room. I'll be right back."

He excused her and she dashed to the restroom. She hoped with some adjustments, it wouldn't be as revealing. If she had to, maybe she could wrap herself up in toilet paper and go with the mummy look.

While she was gone, Clark took the opportunity to walk over to the table. "Hey, know who I am?" Clark asked.

It took him awhile to recognize Clark. "Oh, yeah. You're the new butler, uh…Chad or Cluck."

"Chuck. My name's Chuck."

"Right."

"So I see you're dating the new maid."

"Yeah, she's something," he said in a proud voice. "Wait a minute. Why are you so interested? Trying to steal my girl?" he asked, standing up menacingly.

"Not at all. It's just she has a reputation."

He grinned. "So do I."

"No, not like that. You know what? Never mind."

"What?" he wanted to know.

"It's just a rumor among the servants. It's nothing."

"Tell me," he demanded angrily, although now he sounded a little worried too.

"She's a nice girl and everything but well, she's one of those look-don't- touch-for-health-reasons girls." Clark had a tough time getting that out. If Lois found out what he had just said, she'd murder him, invulnerability or not. "She's a great maid," he continued, "but she wouldn't be a good girlfriend. Of course, it might not be true."

Dan was taking no chances. "Do you mind telling her I had to split? Tell her I found another girl."

"Sure," Clark said, struggling to keep from smiling. It had worked like a charm and Dan didn't seem like he was going to hold it against her.

He waited for her to come back out. When she did, she clearly looked mad and frustrated. He wasn't going to enjoy making her angrier. She saw Dan was gone and saw him standing there, making eye contact with her. She knew he wouldn't do that unless Dan had left.

Lois tried to take a deep breath to calm herself before she went over there, but it sounded more like the snarl of a bulldog. Operation Make-Dress-Less-Revealing hadn't gone very well. It hadn't worked at all. At least, Clark had the decency to make eye contact with her and pretend he didn't notice. That calmed her a little, but it was obvious he had chased him off somehow. "What'd you do?"

"Nothing. He went off with another girl." He slipped off his jacket and handed it to her.

She almost considered refusing because she wasn't in the mood to be indebted to him. She did need it though and she could tell that despite his best efforts, he was having a hard time staying focused on her face and words, so she put it on. That made her wonder if he thought of her as more than a friend or if he was just being a stupid guy. She settled on stupid guy. She'd been a stupid girl with him before. Attraction was completely different than love. "Listen, Smallville! You better not have jeopardized our covers. I can't believe you. I was this close to getting him to reveal something."

"It sounded like it."

"How would you know? You were at the bar."

"I walked here. Unless you have money for a cab, it looks like you'll be walking back with me."

"Let's go then. It's not too far away."

Lois had taken off her heels. They were standing in front of her door now.

"I suppose you want this back," Lois said, starting to take the jacket off.

"No, you can give it to me in the morning."

Lois smiled gratefully. They must have been tired because it seemed like forever before they stopped looking at each other.

At last Lois came to her senses, "Good night, Chuck."

"Good night, Lola."

Lois closed the door and listened to his steps grow fainter, as he went down the hallway. She smelled his jacket. His cologne was on it and a little of the outdoors. It smelled like him. She was tempted to keep it on, but she realized how crazy that would be. She laid it at the foot of her bed and sighed. Things hadn't gone according to plan tonight. She wanted to blame Clark, but he was so hard to stay mad at. His protectiveness stemmed from the fact that he was sweet and caring. In a way, he had saved her from being a gang mobster's girlfriend. She had to make some progress tomorrow or she was wasting her time and who knew what Chloe had uncovered by now?


	6. Chapter 6

Lois woke up with a start and looked at the alarm clock. It was 9:30 in the morning. She'd overslept. She hurriedly put on her maid's uniform. She was positive Clark was up. He got up with the chickens or more like pigeons since they were in the city right now. He could have had the decency to come by and wake her up. He probably wanted to get her fired. He had to have noticed her absence.

She hurried downstairs. The house was incredibly still and devoid of activity. Something strange was going on. It was like one of those dreams where you're completely alone because everyone just disappeared.

She finally stumbled upon Mrs. Rodgers taking money out of a safe.

"What's going on?" Lois asked.

Mrs. Rodgers jumped, clearly startled. "Oh, it's just you. What are you still doing in the house?"

"I don't know. Why is everyone out of the house?"

"You didn't hear? What were you sleeping?" she asked, continuing to pull money out of the safe.

"No, I was—busy. What's happening?"

"Don't ask me. Apparently some stupid reporter hacked into our computer."

'Chloe' Lois thought.

"Instead of the police finding out, which wouldn't have been half so bad, a rival gang got a hold of the reporter and our files. If it had been the police, there'd have been a little time in jail, a good lawyer, and then bam you're out."

"So what is this gang going to do? Take it to the police?" Lois asked still a little confused.

"Of course not. Weren't you listening? The police are too tied up with laws to do too much damage. We have a huge shipment coming in. Over half the money Mr. Alberto has is invested in it. They know this now. They'll show up at the docks and try to take it by pumping our guts full of lead. That's why we've got to hurry up and get out of the country as soon as possible, until things cool off."

"This is like some cheesy gangster movie."

"Oh, it's real."

"So what are you still doing in the house?"

"They sent me back to get the loot, the creeps. Here I've worked for John Alberto darn near 30 years and they send the faithful, old servant into jeopardy."

"Don't get mad or anything, but rumor has it that Mr. Alberto disposes of newer servants."

Mrs. Rodger chuckled. "He does, dearie. Don't ask me what goes on in that man's head. Maybe he figures the more decoys he has, the better his chances are."

"So everybody has to leave the country, including me?"

"No, you don't have to go if you're willing to spend your life in prison."

"I thought you said—"

"I know what I said, but if you survive long enough to get arrested, do you think the cops are going to believe you're innocent after working for John Alberto? I'm afraid you don't have the money to hire a good lawyer. Take some advice from a woman who's lived in the world a little longer than you. Money is what makes the world and especially government go round. If you don't have any, you're screwed."

"What about Chuck. Is he with the others?"

"That butler friend of yours? I imagine. You can ride to the docks with me. I'm in a motherly, sagely mood, so let me give you another piece of advice. Men are unreliable and they only think about themselves, particularly in a crisis. Why my Paul—"

"Lola, there you are! What are you doing?" Clark demanded.

Mrs. Rodger shrugged. "Then again he's not my Paul."

"Excuse us," Lois said, as she dragged him out of the room. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I just assumed you were somewhere around in all the commotion. I forgot you could've slept through Pearl Harbor. It hasn't been that long anyway."

"Isn't this great?" she said excitedly. "We're going to be right in the thick of things. What a story."

"No, it's not great. I want you to go home."

"Do you even know who you're talking to? They've got Chloe. We've got to do something."

"What?"

"Mrs. Rodgers told me the other gang has a reporter that hacked into Alberto's computer. We have to rescue her."

"What gang?"

"I don't know. We should just go down to the docks. Maybe they'll bring Chloe with them. They have to."

Clark didn't answer at first. He was deep in thought. "Lois, if you want to help, go back to your apartment and see if she's there and look around for clues. I'll look around Metropolis."

"Clark, if they have her, she won't be at our apartment and it's all the way in Smallville. That's wasting precious time."

Clark sighed. "Let's go to the docks."

"I do think it's a good idea to go by the Planet though. Why don't you go and I'll hitch a ride with Mrs. Rodgers."

"I don't think so. I'm not leaving you in all this danger."

"You don't want me to go to the docks alone, but you don't mind leaving me sleeping alone in the house. Great time to go into protective mode. Go on. Chloe's the one in danger right now."

"No. We'll ride with Mrs. Rodgers. We'll pass the Planet on the way there."

"And you'll use your amazing ability to see into the building as we ride by?"

"How'd you know?" Clark asked in a teasing tone, but he was certainly telling the truth.

"Whatever. If they've got her, she won't be at the Planet I suppose and they're surely smart enough to not leave any obvious clues."

Mrs. Rodger came out with the satchel of money. "You kids riding with me?"

"Yes," Lois answered.

"Come on then," she said.

Everyone was hiding in a warehouse except for 2 lookouts. It seemed like hours were going by and everyone was on edge.

At last a ship came into view. Clark and Lois had gathered from bits and pieces that the ship had on it billions worth in drugs. There was a huge truck waiting to carry as much of it as possible to Alberto's private air ship. Lois still wondered what he wanted with such a big group. She figured protection was the biggest reason. They had all been given guns. She had a bad feeling that when the threat of the rival gang was over, he would try to dispose of them.

Then again maybe he just wanted them to help unload the drugs. Lois couldn't help but think that this couldn't be legal, story or no story, as she lifted a crate. Her thoughts were interrupted with a gunshot. Clark had jumped in front of her. It was a sweet gesture but rather outdated and she didn't want protection. She wanted to see where the gunshot had come from. She tried to shove Clark out of the way, but it was like to trying to shove a stone statue. She settled for peering over his shoulder. More and more people poured out with guns. Chloe was with them, probably to use as a hostage, just in case the police showed up. Chloe looked very nervous. Some shots rang out on both sides but no one seemed to have been shot.

"Clark, we have to do something!"

He grabbed Lois and pulled her over behind the truck. "Don't move."

"Clark! Clark!" He seemed to have disappeared but it wasn't that hard to do in such a large crowd. Before she could start thinking of a plan to rescue Chloe, it seemed like a small tornado had whipped through and stolen everyone's gun.

Everyone seemed frozen stiff with fear except Lois, who was curiously looking around, trying to figure out where it had come from and where it had gone and Chloe, who looked pleased.

Sirens surrounded the place. Somebody had called the police.

"Let's get out of here!" someone shouted.

That snapped everyone out of their spell and they all started trying to escape but that was unlikely as it seemed the entire Metropolis PD had showed up.

Clark appeared at her side. She looked at him and despite the fact that they were still in a pretty serious situation, she joked, "Well, I guess this ends our career as a maid and butler and just as I was starting to get pretty good at it."


	7. Chapter 7

Chloe, Lois, and Clark were at the Daily Planet, sitting around Chloe's desk. The police had taken their statements and they had turned in the story.

"So how does it feel to have helped write a professional story?" Chloe asked Clark.

"What are you talking about?" Clark asked. "I always help you and Lois write your stories."

"Somebody has a big head," Lois said with a smile.

Clark took a moment to glare at her.

"But you've never helped with the wording before," Chloe pointed out. "So have you been bitten by the journalistic bug yet?"

"I don't know," Clark answered.

"Wow, that's the first time you haven't said no," Chloe remarked. "You're making progress."

"Not everyone has to be a journalist, Chloe," Lois said. "I'd prefer not to travel in the same circles as Smallville. I bet you're feeling very smug, Cuz."

"Why?" asked a perplexed Chloe.

"You were right. You got the story first by hacking into Alberto's computer."

"Well, my way didn't turn out to be less dangerous, did it? One minute I was at the Daily Planet viewing my success and the next minute somebody had a gun jutting from their pocket and he's telling me to come along. The other gang had apparently been trying to hack into his computer and traced where my computer was. And when it came to writing the story, you and Clark added a very interesting angle by being a part of the story. Also, we'd probably be dead right now or the gangs would have escaped if Clark hadn't timed calling the police just right and he wouldn't have been there to do that if you hadn't taken the job in the first place."

"Yeah, I guess. It's definitely the largest number of arrests at once that Metropolis has had in years. It was nice to have played a part in causing it."

"You wouldn't think there'd be a very high crime rate in Metropolis now," Clark said.

"You're an optimist," Lois told Clark. "As long as there is humanity on earth, there will be crime."

"And you're a pessimist. The more advances there are, the less crime."

"In a fantasy world maybe," Lois retorted.

"Guys! I'm really not in the mood for one of your arguments right now," Chloe complained. "Where do you want to celebrate? The team of Sullivan, Lane, and Kent has to do something to mark their first official article together."

"I think you mean the team of Lane, Sullivan, and Kent," Lois said.

"No, she means the team of Kent, Lane, and Sullivan," Clark said.

Before they could resolve who came first in the team name, the phone on Chloe's desk rang.

"Uh-huh…uh-huh…I'll be sure to tell them," Chloe said and then she hung up the phone.

"What?" Clark and Lois asked simultaneously.

"That's the new editor. I think you remember him, Clark. It's Perry White. Anyway, he's been hiring a lot of fresh faces around here. In his words, "If we're going to become the top circulated paper in the world, we need some new talent.'"

"You mean he wants to hire us?" Lois asked.

"Yes, but it's conditional. He wants you two to bring in one more story before he makes up his mind and it's got to be without any help at all from me. You're not going to like the assignment."

"What is it?" Lois asked. "I'll do anything if it means a job at the Planet. I'll get increased pay and respectability. What is it?"

"I'm not sure I want to jump into another story so soon," Clark told them.

"Oh, don't be a baby," Lois said. "You need a job, don't you?"

"I'm still taking classes."

"But it's still summer. You've got time before it starts back up and I'm sure this Perry White will be willing to work with you when it does. What's the story, Chloe?"

Chloe smiled. It was too funny. She knew there would be cries of protest once she told them, but she didn't think it would be impossible to talk them into it. "It's another undercover story." She waited for their reaction.

"And?" Lois asked, impatiently.

"Okay here goes," Chloe said. "Perry wants you to go under cover as a wife and a husband."

There was complete quiet for a few moments, as they processed this information and then Lois stood up and said, "Come on, Clark. Let's go find out who's hiring for a maid and a butler."

The End


End file.
